Richmond Spiders men’s golf team finished the first round of the NCAA Regionals in 12th place out of 14 teams after recovering from a difficult start, according to a May 18 announcement. The event took place at Bermuda Run Country Club, where Richmond posted a team score of 9-over par (293).
The tournament marks Richmond’s first appearance at an NCAA Regional in nearly ten years. The team initially struggled on holes 10-16, collectively scoring 15-over par before regaining composure and moving up two spots on the leaderboard over the final eleven holes. Richmond currently leads Navy by two shots and Little Rock by five, while trailing Presbyterian by three shots.
Junior Quin Polin led the Spiders’ efforts with a comeback performance. After being five-over par through his first six holes—including a triple-bogey on hole eleven—Polin played his last twelve holes four-under par to finish at one-over (72), tying for thirty-sixth individually. “i just tried to play patient, hit fairways, and take it one shot at a time, without thinking about the bad start,” said Polin when asked about how he managed to recover during his round.
Freshman Lucas Rizo-Patron shot two-over (73) and is tied for fiftieth place. Sophomore Carson Baez and senior Drew Carlin both carded three-over (74), tying for fifty-ninth among seven golfers. Junior Jack LaPiana ended day one in seventy-third place with nine-over par.
After winning last month’s Atlantic 10 Championship, this is Richmond’s sixth team appearance at an NCAA Regional and its first since finishing eleventh out of thirteen teams in West Lafayette, Indiana in 2017.
The Spiders will begin Round Two from the tenth tee starting at 8:55 AM Tuesday and will be paired with Presbyterian and NC State.
